Denver and the West

Colorado public defenders want children out of restraints in court

A 10-year-old boy stands shackled with his mother, left, and his attorney in a Florida court in 2007. (Associated Press file)

He tried to hide the tears from his mother.

But the bright orange handcuffs locked his wrists together, and eventually he gave up trying to tug his T-shirt up to his face to wipe them away.

Details about the assault charge the teenager faced are not public — it could have been a hard shove or a violent fistfight — but the boy accused of stealing candy bars from a convenience store was brought into the same Denver courtroom with the same orange handcuffs clasped around his thin wrists. The restraints fastened around his ankles rattled against the chain that stretched between his skater shoes, which barely touched the floor when he sat down.

The scene is one that happens in courtrooms almost every day in Colorado.

In all but three courthouses, juveniles as young as 10 are led into courtrooms wearing restraints that can weigh as much as 25 pounds. Defense attorneys and advocates say the long-term effects of shackling juveniles can be devastating for children still developing their self-worth.

Sheriff's departments — which are in charge of the custody of all offenders and courthouse security — cannot readily recall a recent assault or escape attempt by a juvenile inside a courtroom, but most still say the risks of removing restraints are too great. Judges, who have the ultimate say of whether juveniles wear restraints in their courtroom, have repeatedly deferred to the sheriff's judgment.

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"Why the state is allowed to do things to children that parents wouldn't be allowed to do isn't something you could ever explain to a child. Because there is no good explanation for it," said Ann Roan, state training director for juvenile defense for the Office of the State Public Defender.

The Denver Post does not name juveniles charged with a crime.

Wrist, ankle cuffs

In-custody juveniles, ages 10 to 17, appear in courtrooms in restraints that can include wrists and ankle cuffs and in some cases a chain that wraps around their waist. Often the child charged with harassment for pointing a pencil at another student looks no different than the child accused of a violent crime, public defenders say.

Some of the crimes juveniles are accused of are so serious they are not allowed to be released, Roan said. But many children remain in custody because their parents couldn't be reached or refused to come get them, or the judge said their home is not safe for them.

Public defenders and child advocates have been working with judges and law enforcement for several years to change the practice. Since the beginning of the year, three districts — Boulder, Jefferson and La Plata counties — have started unshackling juveniles while they are in the courtrooms.

"When we reviewed it, we realized the juveniles were handcuffed or shackled more often than the adults," said Mark Techmeyer, spokesman for the Jefferson County Sheriff's Office. "They were being held to a different standard."

Law enforcement and public defenders in each of those counties said there have been no problems inside the courtrooms since they started removing the restraints. Some even reported improved behavior.

In those three districts, defense attorneys, prosecutors, judges and sheriff's deputies can determine if an individual juvenile should remain in restraints. They consider whether the child poses an escape risk, is a threat to themselves or others and whether the crime they are accused of is severe enough that they should remain in restraints.

Bill failed in 2013

Of the 9,124 charges filed against juveniles in 2013, about 20 percent were violent or sexual offenses, according to The Post's analysis of state judicial records.

Since 2007, at least six states have implemented statewide policies to keep most juveniles out of restraints, said David Shapiro, manager of the National Juvenile Defender Center's Campaign Against Indiscriminate Shackling of Youth. Several other states and counties have less formal policies, including Los Angeles.

In 2013, a bill that included a provision to remove restraints during court appearances failed in the Colorado House.

Roan says the issue shouldn't have to be solved legislatively when judges can make the change immediately. But in some of the state's busiest juvenile courts, efforts to find a compromise have stalled.

Denver Juvenile Court Presiding Judge D. Brett Woods declined an interview request with The Post, but through a spokesman said he had considered several factors in deciding whether to remove the restraints. He traveled to Jefferson and Arapahoe counties to observe their practices, but ultimately did not change the policy.

"The primary role of any courthouse is to facilitate the court's business," said Steve Steadman, administrator for judicial security for the state.

Steadman has served on a number of task forces in different counties examining the issue. In addition to security, several factors must be considered, including the layout of the courthouse, the time it would take to remove the restraints and the possible additional resources required.

To accommodate the change in Boulder, a full-time deputy and court security officer had to be hired, costing the county about $91,000 a year. No additional staff were required in Jefferson or La Plata counties.

"The restraints are there for their protection," Diggins said. "We want them to stay in custody and not make a snap decision and run out and face additional charges."

There is an average of seven escape attempts from courtrooms — including juveniles and adults — each year in Colorado, Steadman said. But neither Steadman nor Diggins could give an example of a juvenile attempting escape in recent years.

In 2006, juvenile courts in Miami-Dade County in Florida started removing juveniles' restraints during court appearances. Five years later, more than 20,000 juveniles had appeared without restraints and there was only one escape attempt, according to a report by the Florida Public Defender's office.

The policy was later implemented statewide.

Dr. Gwen Wurm, a general and behavioral pediatrician at the University of Miami, worked with public defenders to change the policy. Forcing all juveniles to wear restraints in front of strangers and their families can be traumatic for children who have already been through trauma at home, she said.

"If we put them in a situation where they are basically treated like caged animals, that is how they are going to see themselves," Wurm said. "No good can come of this."

Adding to the trauma to some of the kids' lives can increase the likelihood that children will re-offend.

Steadman says the conversations about juvenile restraints are ongoing, and defense attorneys can still file motions in individual cases. But Roan warns that the effects on children are too severe to wait, and every day the policy is not changed is another day children appear in shackles.

"When you treat a kid like a criminal, they start acting like criminals," Roan said.

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